Health Systems in Transition - Hungary - World Health Organization ...

Health systems in transition Hungary 91
3.6.2 External sources of funds
External sources have supported the reform process, especially in its early
phase. In the area of health services, these included bilateral aid programmes,
development assistance from the EU, USAID partnership programmes and a
World Bank loan – the Health Service and Management Project – supporting
the restructuring of the health care system. The largest was the seven-year
World Bank project for the institutional development of public health, health
services modernization and the establishment of health services management
and public health training, among other things. The most important external
projects have been financed by EU grants, initially designed to support the
preparation of the country for EU accession and, after 2004, the economic and
social convergence with more developed EU Member States. Under the “New
Hungary Development Plan” (2007–2013) over HUF 400 billion (€1.44 billion)
has been and will be invested in the development of human resources and health
care infrastructure. In 2010, HUF 109 billion (€392.8 million) in EU funds was
awarded mainly for developing infrastructure in health (Antonyi, 2011). Of this,
98% is absorbed by two of the three main development programmes, aiming
to support investments almost exclusively in physical infrastructure. The third
programme aims at developing human resources and health promotion.
3.6.3 Other sources of financing
Other private sources include enterprises financing and/or delivering preventive,
curative and rehabilitative occupational health services to their employees.
Voluntary donations channelled through charities have also begun to play a
role since 1990. The size of the sector is more significant in terms of financing
than that of profit-making private health insurance, but it is still a minor
(2.2% in 2009) share of total health expenditure (Table 3.4). The government
created a new opportunity for the expansion of the voluntary sector in 1996:
taxpayers can decide which non-profit-making organizations receive 1% of
their personal income tax (1996/13). All non-profit-making organizations that
finance or carry out public benefit activities are eligible, except for political
parties and organizations representing the interests of employers and employees.
Since health care is a public benefit activity, non-profit-making organizations
financing and/or providing health care are eligible. The government has
extended this scheme by another 1% of income tax to be offered to churches,
some of which own and operate institutions for health care provision (1997/12).